When I was young, I made the mistake of watching Poltergeist, still one of the most scary films I’ve ever seen. For several months afterwards, I couldn’t look in a mirror or eat chicken, and to this very day, clowns frighten the hell out of me.
I used to stay at my grandparents house in Launceston during school holidays, and one of my grandmother’s neighbours had given her a clown doll. While that doll was in the house, I couldn’t go through the door. Even when it was locked in a cupboard, I didn’t feel safe - in fact, that almost made it worse, because I could imagine it busting out in the middle of the night and putting it’s little fabric hands around my throat. Consequently, the clown moved out whenever I was around.
As I grew up I kept seeing signs adding credence to my fear - John Wayne Gacy’s artworks, Kramer’s nemesis Crazy Joe Divola dressing up as a clown … Ronald McDonald, in any form he comes in. I’m sure it’s not just me who backs away from Bozo. So today, I’ve found a vision of my potential future so terrifying, I had to post the link here. In fact, it’s so shocking it had to be split into two parts, the first of which is here, the second here. Please watch both of them, and be grateful you aren’t yet at the mercy of these hideous creatures. Also, pay close attention to the insanity of the voice over, and lines like “if you do have a stuffed animal or glove puppet, it’s part of yourself, a very close friend”. That’s just what I’ve always said.
Today I’m loving: doing two full chin ups
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March 3rd, 2007 at 9:53 am
I love clowns and always have. I even have photos of myself dressed and made up as a clown. Clowns are meant to make you laugh! And as laughter has been found to be very therapeutic it is sad that your experience has been one of fear. The christian training videos I found amusing and at the same time patronising and a pisstake. I don’t think you need to worry about a visitation of clowns in your dotage unless you end up in the Royal Children’s Hospital, which is highly unlikely. Only 6% of older people end up in nursing homes and given your level of fitness it unlikely to be you. The majority of people end their lives in their own homes. I fear the numerous bad singers and entertainment groups that frequent nursing homes more. As an ex nurse who worked in such places, I speak from experience.
June 21st, 2007 at 7:00 am
[…] I’ve always had big eyebrows. Partly because my hair is so black, but mainly because they’re just big. At primary school, I was always teased about having clown eyebrows, and thinking back, this may be where my hatred/phobia of clowns started (although as I mentioned previously, Poltergeist was the main catalyst). When Brooke Shields first came into the public eye, she also had huge eyebrows, and many people (all of them women) would say “you have eyebrows just like Brooke Shields, you’re so lucky”. Perhaps from an adult perspective, but in the schoolyard it didn’t cut any ice . […]